Runaways
by AwesomeTrinket
Summary: Charlotte and Eladriel, although cousins, are brother and sister; best friends until the end of the line. They'll always have each other's back, even when they both ran away from their abusive household to live on the streets together.
1. The First Hour

_Yeah, I've got more stuff. Same as always, directly copied from the subreddit, will do mass-posting until caught up, blah blah blah._

 _NO GUYS I HAVEN'T ABANDONED DAILY SUMMONER QUESTS I JUST WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING AND DO SOME CHARACTER BACKSTORY AND STUFF LIKE THAT_

 _ANYway, as I was saying, during chapter two of Daily Summoner Quests, I mentioned that I took care of ten monsters. Two of these monsters is Charlotte and Eladriel, who are cousins with a relationship so close it's practically a brother-and-sister relationship._

 _I wanted to do a bit of character development, so what could've been a good idea? Perhaps have Charlotte get constantly teased and picked on for being so short and Eladriel genuinely wants to stick up for her and be her best friend? Or maybe have Eladriel be a troublemaker and Charlotte keep her partner-in-crime from getting caught? Oh, I know! Why not have them run away from an abusive household and try to survive on the streets? Wonderful!_

 _Obviously, this takes place in the Daily Summoner Quests universe._

 **Note to self: Try not to abandon this fanfic. You've got a bad habit of abandoning fanfics.**

* * *

Eladriel looked up, watching as the woman slammed the door shut. She was taking her daughter to the zoo and wouldn't be back for at least three hours. Of course, Charlotte and Eladriel wouldn't come along; they were treated like dirt. Less than dirt, even. They may have been given food, clothes and a house to live, but they weren't given love. The woman even slapped Eladriel a few times when he stuck up for Charlotte. The spoiled brat of a daughter always blamed his little cousin for things that she herself had done.

He flew up to the window, watching them pile into the car – such a beautiful Mercedes – and drive off. _She'll turn the corner and disappear. Wait twenty seconds, and then find Charlotte._ Eladriel told himself. He followed these instructions and hopped down to the ground, silently landing on the carpet. He and Charlotte practiced their getaway route for months.

"Charlotte?" He whispered behind the bookcase. They agreed to meet up there, as that was where their backpacks were hidden. It was Charlotte's idea to travel light; to pack only the bare minimum (three changes of clothes, hygiene products, etc.) and each of them a light valuable if they had space. Eladriel took his favorite book, _The Hobbit_ , Charlotte her teddy bear.

"Right here, Brother." Charlotte whispered back. She was already in the white hoodie they had bought to hide her face and hair. Her long green hair was hidden in a ponytail, the hoodie flipped up. The twelve year old stood up, her backpack already slung across her shoulders. She held Eladriel's to him and he took it, sliding it on.

"Come on, they've just left. We've got two minutes to catch the bus." They both knew it was wrong, but whenever the woman wasn't looking, they would each take a tiny bit of money and save up. It was never over a hundred dollars; maybe just twenty dollars here and there. They had finally saved up enough to each have about five hundred dollars. A thousand dollars seemed like a lot, but it was probably going to disappear before she knew it.

He took Charlotte's hand, smiling slightly as she embraced his touch for a second. Their hearts beat the whole time as they quietly opened the door and stepped onto the concrete path. All the worst possible scenarios were flowing through their head. Would the mother come home early because they forgot something? Would the neighbors rat them out?

Everything went without a hitch, though. Before they knew it, they were sitting on the bench, watching for the blue Mercedes. Eladriel's arm was wrapped around Charlotte, the latter leaning her head on his side. The bus screeched to a halt in front of the stop, the door opening up. Almost instantly, they hopped onto their feet and stepped into the bus.

The bus was blasting the air conditioner way too high up and smelled like rancid oil; quite a foul stench. Neither of them cared, though. It was all they needed to get out of the state. Eladriel held onto Charlotte and the two of them sat down at a window seat near the back.

Charlotte remembered the steps they took to throw the woman off their tracks. They booked a flight to China on their "guardian's" credit card that they never intended to board and didn't leave a note explaining their absence. The bus let another passenger on, a Veromos, and slammed the doors shut. With a banging noise akin to a popgun, the engine revved and the bus putt-putted away.

"Brother, what happens if they find us?" Charlotte whispered in a voice so quiet only Eladriel could hear her.

"If the police find us, we'll be taken to jail or back home, and if they find us…" Eladriel whispered back in the same volume. "Well, there's no need to worry. They won't find us."

"Hush, Brother. Someone's coming." Charlotte suddenly turned her head towards the window and leaned her head on the wall so all anyone would see would be the back of her hoodie.

The weight shifted as the Veromos sat next to them. Eladriel internally groaned, wondering why he would choose to sit next to them. He turned to the wind Archangel, a Zippo lighter in his hand. Eladriel gave him a basic hello.

"Hey. Bum a cig?" He grunted back in response.

"Sorry, I don't smoke." He hoped that Veromos would end it at that.

"Meh, it's alright. Sis's trying to stop me from smoking, anyway." He shrugged, glancing at Charlotte. "Speaking of which, she your sister?" He motioned towards her.

"Yeah. Her name's Charlotte. Don't wake her up, though. She's asleep." Eladriel lied. Charlotte played along, and made a soft snoring noise.

"Hmm." Veromos hummed. _Please just stop talking to us now._ Eladriel thought to himself.

"So where're you two off too, and where's your Summoner?" Eladriel was glad the two of them practiced their back-story so they knew what to say.

"She's at her husband's house. We're off to that house to see him." He lied, hoping that Veromos bought it. He did, thankfully. Unfortunately, he didn't leave them alone and changed the subject.

"How old's Charlotte? Molly's turning fifteen next week."

"She's nine." Eladriel was honestly glad that Charlotte was short enough to be confused as a nine year old. "She's got the intelligence of someone far over her age, though, so she thinks that she's invincible and can get past anything. Naturally, you can understand that she gets into quite a lot of trouble. I don't really care, though. Watching her face light up when I read to her out loud will make it forever worth it for me. I really love the kid." Charlotte smiled as she overheard him.

"…You know; you seem like a really good older brother." Veromos calmly remarked.

"Thanks." Eladriel shrugged. Charlotte hiccupped slightly. Eladriel turned to her. Her backpack was sliding off of her shoulders. The bus suddenly stopped, almost causing Charlotte to hit her head on the window. She jumped and pretended to "wake up" The time had passed a lot longer than the both of them thought; it was almost noon.

"Well, this is our stop. 'Twas nice chatting with you, Veromos." Eladriel told him, standing up. Charlotte held onto his hand, shrugging her backpack back onto her shoulders. They were out of Pennsylvania, and it was time to start living on the streets as runaways.

They watched the bus drive away before they turned to their new surroundings. It was a small town, and was probably half a mile away from New York City. It was time to walk. The two of them looked at each other, before they said one thing to each other. It was a phrase that they would repeat almost weekly for the next three years of their lives:

"Do not listen to the lies of a dead man."


	2. Alone In The City

_well._

 _poo._

 _my computer has been infected with a virus._

 _so now i have to use the old computer in the living room._

 _which also means that chapter five of daily summoner quests is going to be prolonged even further._

 _sorry guys._

* * *

"What are you doing, Charlotte?" Eladriel asked. They had arrived in the city and walked around a bit for a few hours, when Charlotte suddenly pointed towards a bakery and said she wanted to explore there. He obliged, and when they found the dumpster, she grabbed the closest thing she could see (a small wooden box) and stood on it before peering down it.

"If you remember, Brother, we read that when bakeries and restaurants throw out food, it's usually only past the sell-by date, even a day past. Most of the food in a dumpster is fine to eat, if you know what you're looking for." Charlotte explained, face in the dumpster. The soft sound of plastic bags crinkling could be heard as Charlotte took care to not get anything on her sleeves while rummaging through the bags.

Her explanation brought that back to the front of his mind, reminding him of the day they sneaked away to the library to research more about how to survive on the streets. They didn't want to use any of the computers in the house, in case the woman suddenly grew half a brain and decided to check the router.

"Perhaps it would be best if we were to go diving at night, with less chances of people seeing us." Eladriel mentioned, checking to make sure no one was about to come to the back of the bakery and see either of them.

"You are right, Brother. It would be better." Charlotte looked up and towards him. He helped her off the box and slid it back to where she had found it. It would look suspicious if someone noticed that the box was moved in a way to look like a stepping stool.

"To the left of the clothes shop and three steps away from the motel lies the bakery." Charlotte and Eladriel noted before walking out of the alleyway. A cool spring breeze hit the both of them in the faces. Charlotte shivered and zipped her jacket up even further. They intentionally bought a jacket one size too big to hide her height and body form.

"Remember to have a drink, Charlotte, and refill your bottle whenever you can. Dehydration is one of the leading causes of death in runaways." Eladriel reminded her. She nodded and slid her water bottle out of her backpack, taking a drink. Eladriel checked his watch. 5:25 P.M. They hadn't eaten all day and the sun was setting, making the sky turn into a hazy orange.

"Maybe we should try that store over there for some food. Someone could be giving away some samples and we could try to buy something small. The canned and dry stuff in our backpacks should be used only as last resort." He added. Charlotte agreed with him and they headed off to the store.

* * *

"Hi there!" A woman bent down and smiled at Charlotte, who smiled back. Eladriel was getting a few samples for the two of them, but was close enough that Charlotte could run back to him within a few seconds. This woman looked like she was in her early thirties, her hair dyed a bright blonde.

"Are you lost, sweetie?" She asked. Charlotte shook her head. The insanely bright lights shone above her, which both illuminated her hoodie and covered enough of her face in shadow that she couldn't be recognized that easily. She noticed the tiny red tattoo of a heart the woman had on her inner right wrist.

"Where's your mommy?" It soon became obvious to her that this woman thought she had gotten separated or taken by someone. She played the innocent and naïve nine year old personality that she and Eladriel agreed that she would take on.

"Mommy's at Daddy's house, so I'm here with Brother!" She put on a cute smile that would melt the heart of any adult. Her charm caused her to fall for her lies.

"In that case, where's Brother?" Eladriel came back with two samples in his hands.

"Right here." He handed a sample to Charlotte, who began to nibble on it, before turning to the adult.

"Thank you so much for talking to Charlotte for me; it's usually so hard to keep her still while getting samples." She looked at him for a second, her expression something that could only be described as an "I don't trust you" expression before turning back to Charlotte.

"Charlotte, honey, is that Brother over there?" She enthusiastically nodded. Under her enthusiasm, she hoped that they would get left alone, as she _really_ didn't want Eladriel to try and convince a woman that she wasn't, in fact, being kidnapped and that Eladriel really was her "brother"

Thankfully, after five minutes of basically proving they are related and Charlotte was fine, she went away. They both let out a sigh of relief, exchanging glances that basically said it all to each other.

 _I thought she'd never leave._

 _Me too, Brother._

The two of them bought something tiny, just a carrot for Charlotte, before they exited the store. Charlotte nipped at the sides of the carrot, trying to offer Eladriel some. Everything was darkening. It wasn't nearly as pretty as Eladriel and Charlotte remembered, back in Pennsylvania. The beautiful sunsets would be the only thing that the two of them would miss. Nevertheless, they stopped to look at it.

A chilling early spring breeze hit their faces and flipped Charlotte's bangs up. She shivered and zipped her jacket all the way up. Eladriel held onto her, his body warmth seeping into her. Charlotte finished half of her carrot and gave the rest to Eladriel. The realization of what they just did was sinking in.

"You know we can't return to our old life now; right, Charlotte?" Eladriel asked.

"I know, Brother." Charlotte responded.

"We'll be fine, though. We've got each other." Eladriel smiled slightly, before bending down and gently kissing the top of Charlotte's head.

"I love you, Charlotte."

"I love you too, Brother."


	3. Missing Person

_After seeing that /u/RevelRain actually did my Word Art of the Month suggestion, and that I was the first to get into it, I was actually inspired to write! I have even better news, too; just as I finished this chapter, I was told that my computer was finally fixed!_

 _For the past few days, I have been using either my tablet or the Windows XP computer in the living room that crashes when I try to Facebook or YouTube, and can barely reddit, but the word processor and the games work fine. You can guess I've been on the former a lot. (why is it so damn impossible to get high wind essences for eladriel goshdarnit.)_

 _HOWEVER, not only do I have a new chapter for you, my pretty dumplings, to desperately caress your vision orbs with while you wait for DSQ, I got pretty damn good at Minesweeper, to the point where I can actually clear a round! I apologize for the length of this chapter. Boredom made me make this almost twice as long as your usual Runaways chapter._

* * *

 _…ages, 16 and 12, last seen, 4/3/14, in their house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…If either have been spotted, call this number…_ Eladriel skimmed the newspaper on the stand. Their faces and descriptions were in the missing person section. He would bet that the woman threw away a boatload of money just to get her scapegoats back. In actuality, he was surprised that it took her a week to get their faces in the paper.

The newspaper vendor looked up at him. He tried to avert eye contact. It was too late, though. The vendor turned his back to him and began to dial on a phone. He set the newspaper down and calmly walked away, looking for Charlotte in the Laundromat.

The younger was pulling her changes of clothes out of the dryer, folding them as quickly as she could, putting the pile in her backpack. She looked up at him when the last pile was done. Her face became filled with worry when she saw the expression on his face. Eladriel tried to keep himself from looking upset, but apparently he couldn't.

"They're onto us, Charlotte." He whispered. Her eyes widened as she began to tremble.

"A-already?" She whispered back. He nodded.

"Where do we run to now, Brother?"

"Manhattan is far away enough. Maybe we'll even be able to see the Avengers Tower if we're lucky." Eladriel smiled at her with the last statement. She smiled back, before holding onto his hand. "However, we can only stay here a day, and then we have to get out of the state."

The street was crowded and loud. It was perfect to blend into. Eladriel looked at the Isabelle talking to the newspaper vendor that was phoning the police. Her dagger wasn't anywhere to be seen. Nothing interesting about her. He looked away. A Velajuel was nearby. Charlotte looked towards them for one second. Isabelle didn't notice them, but Velajuel locked eyes with her. She looked away and sped up her walking pace.

"They're here, Isabelle." Velajuel muttered to Isabelle. She thanked the vendor for his help and turned towards the crowd as fast as she could, but they had already blended in. Neither of them would be able to find either of the two if they tried. Isabelle glared at Velajuel.

"Find. Them." Isabelle growled. "If you don't, neither of us will get any more jobs. Is that what you want." She didn't put it as a question. She knew the answer to it already. They had been paid a hefty sum to find those two kids, and she would not let her partner screw it up. Being a hit-man paid very well.

"You are to find a wind Archangel and a wind Occult Girl with the description given of them within the month *or else.*" Isabelle threatened before walking into the crowd, looking for her targets. Velajuel followed her.

"Where one goes, the other will always follow." Isabelle reminded him.

"Especially if the one who goes is Charlotte. If we can get her, we could easily lure out Eladriel." Velajuel remarked.

"We just need to _find them, first._ " Isabelle breathed a bit to let out her frustration before she continued, much calmer than before.

"Perhaps we can bargain with the humans to give us their video camera footage. Surely the two of them would have to appear on at least one camera in the city." She told him. "Obtaining it will be the hardest part, though."

"Humans are greedy, selfish pigs." Velajuel replied through his grin. "There is nothing that can't be obtained with enough money." Isabelle caught a glimpse of Eladriel as he and Charlotte hurried to a subway. They stepped ever-so-delicately here and there to make sure their backpacks didn't hit anyone.

"There's no need for the footage, now. There they are." She growled. Her dagger was suddenly in her hand, and her pace sped up. Velajuel had to fly to catch up to her. Determination flowed through her veins; her mission was almost complete. All she needed was to capture Charlotte and she would basically be done.

They followed the two onto the subway, making sure they stayed where they could keep an eye on them but was far away that they couldn't be seen. Eladriel was talking quietly to Charlotte, who was to the right of him. His face could clearly be seen by the both of them.

"Quit staring at whatever you're looking at." Isabelle snarled at Velajuel, who was staring at Eladriel for whatever reason. Isabelle didn't know, nor did she care. The last thing she needed was him falling in love with Eladriel or something ridiculous like that. He barely even heard her. She sighed and just dragged him away by the wrist to their seat.

"We wait for her to be alone, and then we grab her and run. We don't want to kill anyone this time. If even a single hair on either of their heads are harmed, then our pay will be revoked." She told him.

"Oh, don't worry, Isabelle, dearest. That won't be a problem; _especially with that Eladriel._ " Velajuel purred back in reply. Oh great. The worst case scenario happened. Fantastic.

"Keep your perverted mind to yourself and just focus on the mission. If we do not get the money I'll blame you." Charlotte glanced up at the two for a second. She recognized the Velajuel as Eladriel looked at her strange.

"What're you looking at?" He whispered to her. She turned back, eyes wide as she realized who she just saw.

"When we were going to the subway, I saw a Velajuel lock eyes with me. He and an Isabelle are here now. Let's keep our guards up for now." She responded, trying to keep her eye on them. Eladriel stood up and held onto her hand to try and get farther away from them. Isabelle watched them; waiting to see what seat they were going to. She snapped at Velajuel to follow her as they were going out of sight. Once more, with a few glances, they could tell what the other was thinking.

 _They're following us, Brother._

 _We're going to have to roam around for the rest of the ride. We don't want anyone to try and call the authorities on us or worse._

They were following the two again. Charlotte held on even tighter to Eladriel's hand. She felt dizzy and lightheaded at the same time. Subways tend to do that to her a lot. She was afraid that they would have to stop, else she would throw up. Charlotte was definitely feeling ill from the motion sickness. She had the feeling in her throat when you *know* that you're going to end up losing your lunch within the next two minutes.

Eladriel noticed this and asked if she needed to use the bathroom for a second. She nodded the best she could. She was definitely not going to be able to hold her sick in before the end of the ride. Eladriel waited for her outside the bathroom. Isabelle instructed Velajuel to distract him while she got Charlotte.

It was horrible. Definitely something that she wouldn't recommend. Her throat burned and she still felt ill. She splashed a bit of water on her face before pulling out her water bottle for a drink. Isabelle pretended to be just someone trying to clean themselves up after a long morning.

"From the looks of it, 'm guessing you're having a bad morning, too." She said to the younger. Charlotte was instantly on edge, realizing that was the Isabelle that was following them. She kept it to herself, though, and nodded.

"Stomach bug or something?" Charlotte shook her head, trying to say as little as she could.

"Just motion sickness." An idea instantly formed in Isabelle's head.

"Ugh, that's the _worst._ " She said, applying mascara in the mirror. "I find the best solution for that is to try and have something light to eat." Isabelle finished and looked back at Charlotte.

"Hey, if you're still feeling sick, I think I have something in my bag. My friend's keeping an eye on it, though. We can go and retrieve it right now, though." Charlotte tensed up.

"N-no thanks, I'll be fine…" Isabelle pursued the issue, though.

"You sure? I've got lots of stuff in my bag you can have." Isabelle held out her hand to Charlotte.

"I-I'm fine, really. Brother's waiting for me, so I can't be here for long…"

"We won't be but a minute." Isabelle was growing increasingly irritated, and Charlotte could see that. She started edging towards the door, keeping her eye on her.

"Hey, where're you going?" Isabelle took a step forward. Her hand was gripped on the handle of her dagger, ready to unsheathe it. This only terrified her even further and made her advance even further to the door.

"Listen, kid, I've been paid thousands – tens of thousands, even – to return you and your cousin back to your old home." She explained, before changing her voice to wheedling and high-pitched, as if Charlotte were five.

"Living on the streets is cold and unforgiving. You had a home, you threw it away, now you've got a second chance. Just make the right choice and come along with us and we'll get Eladriel too." Charlotte's back was pressed against the door. Suddenly the dagger was at her throat, making it even harder to breathe.

"What do you say, little Charlotte: Shall we go without injury or do I have to force you into the destination home? Oh, and trust me, sweetie; I don't play nice." Charlotte could've sworn that Isabelle had her lips curled into an icy smile behind her mask. Within a split second she grabbed the knob and threw the door open. She could hear the door hitting someone, but as long as it wasn't Eladriel, she was fine with that. Isabelle grabbed onto one of the straps of her backpack, but she wrenched herself away and broke into a run.

"Do not listen to the lies of a dead man!" She shouted behind her back, running as fast as possible. Eladriel took the opportunity to rush away from Velajuel, his wings opening up. The fire Archangel was dazed, from the door that suddenly crashed into the side of his head.

Eladriel was disgusted; Velajuel started talking to him at first, and it seemed normal, until he leaned in for a kiss. Eladriel tried – he honestly tried – to get away from Velajuel while staying nearby for Charlotte at the same time, but he was overpowered and had his lips pressed against Eladriel's.

He caught up to Charlotte. The subway train ground against the tracks, and the door opened. Even through the river of people rushing to get out of the train and get back to their daily life, they could see Isabelle and Velajuel rushing after them. Charlotte and Eladriel grabbed onto each other's hands and wormed their way out of the stream and up the stairs. The sudden change in light almost blinded them, but they had to get away.


	4. In a River

_Your narrator enters the room with an oversized sweatshirt on and bed hair. She's aggressively cramming a Madeline into her – wait, didn't I already do this intro before?_

 _Hello my pretty cookies! How are you all? Did you miss me? Probably not. HEY DID YOU KNOW THAT I CAN'T RTA? Anyway, I understand if you all hate me for the Veladriel that I ended up putting in the previous chapter. Don't worry. I hate my fingers too._

 _I apologize if I become a lot more inactive, I've got a new job which requires me to submit Summoner's War articles that I write for and the pay is $20._

* * *

They stopped running only when they were far away enough, and even then, it was only to catch their breath, their lungs burning. Adrenaline was still rushing through their systems, waiting for something to happen in case they needed to run again. Velajuel was pulled into the alleyway by Isabelle.

Isabelle had the stormiest look on her face. It was terrifying to Velajuel, honestly. He had enraged her multiple times before, but she had never become this angry before. The wrath of a dark element monster is anger to be feared.

"What did I say about keeping your thoughts and urges to yourself." She snapped. The darkness of the alleyway covered their faces.

"You said that I was to distract him." He tried to reason with her. There was no way to calm her down, though.

"The client specifically said that we were not to hurt them in any way. That *includes* forcefully kissing them." Fiery rage burned behind her black irises. Even in the darkness, he could clearly see that.

"Because of you, we could risk losing this job, or even have a blemish on our perfect reputation!" Both hands were balled up in fists, as if she were just ready to hit him at any moment. She took a shaky breath to keep her unbearable urge to hit Velajuel in control and relaxed her fists.

"As your higher-up, I could report you to our client and permanently get you banned from any jobs. You are lucky, though. I will just let you off this job and speak to my higher-up. You will not get paid." There was no time for Velajuel to protest getting let off. Isabelle turned around and walked off into the darkness, disappearing into the shadows and leaving him alone.

* * *

The two were surprised that they could find a mildly rural area in New York. The sun was out, there was green everywhere, and a river was flowing, boats lazily cruising down the blue water. It was a perfect place for a picnic – in fact, there were a few families sitting on the grass, eating and watching the boats.

Charlotte was sitting far away from them, her legs hugged against her chest. Eladriel was nearby, holding onto her. It was so quiet and peaceful; they felt like they could just stay there forever. Charlotte wondered how deep the river was – not that she wanted to find out herself, she was terribly afraid of large bodies of water. In the corner of her eye, she could see children running around and screaming, as they always did.

Suddenly she found herself lying on the ground, her side significantly more sore than it was a second ago. Eladriel had stood up and was shouting something. After getting up, she managed to figure out why she had suddenly been lying on the ground: she had been body-slammed by a chubby little kid with a sneer in his eye and a smirk on his face, an ice-cream sandwich in his hand. There were obvious food and grease stains on his shirt.

"Your sister really needs to watch where she's going." His smirk grew even more and he took a bite of his sandwich. The melted vanilla dribbled down his chin and dripped onto the grass. Charlotte had never seen her calm and collected cousin look so worked up before.

"Maybe she would be able to if you hadn't come barreling in and knocked her off!" He snarled back. Charlotte stood up and tried to reassure him.

"Brother, it's fine."

"Yeah, _Brother!_ Go take the sissy route!" The kid outright laughed back. Flecks of ice cream came spitting out of his mouth. She gripped Eladriel's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Almost instantly, she could see the anger melt away. That was clearly a mistake, though, as the kid took the chance to suddenly headbutt her. She stumbled and began to tip backwards. Charlotte's arms windmilled to try and keep her balance, but it failed and she tumbled, back first, into the river.

"Oops." He shrugged and took another bite of the sandwich.

The freezing water instantly numbed her nerves. Nevertheless, she tried to keep her chin up in the air as she flailed about, waving her arms about and coughing up water. She couldn't feel the bottom of the river with her feet, which meant that it was deep enough for her to drown.

She could hear Eladriel screaming at the kid, but she couldn't make out what through her fear and the panic. She tried to grab onto a something, anything, but the current swept her away. It was faster than it looked, to the point where she couldn't control herself. Onlookers gathered on the emerald grass to watch her. Some pointed and others even took pictures, but no one came to rescue her.

"BROTHER!" She screamed out, sending her into a coughing fit. Her lungs burned and her body was numb and freezing. Through the smeared colors she saw Eladriel ditch the kid and start running after her. The sandwich had been knocked out of the boy's hand and he was crying; most likely over the loss of his delicious dessert he was eating. Her arm was stretched out, trying to grab onto her brother's slender fingers, but they slipped away at the last second.

Eladriel's wings opened and he was lifted in the air, rushing towards the little Occult Girl. Someone was watching her almost drown. They stood out from her, though, because of how they were far away from the other onlookers, and from how they too were going after her. They were all just a blurred smear like everything else, but she could pick out dark hair tied in a bun.

Her mind was running wild with panic as she was pushed down the river, the current too strong for her to fight. She didn't want to know what would happen if she were swept away too far. Charlotte was glad that she could be snapped out of those thoughts, though, as Eladriel caught up to her and grabbed onto her wrist, preventing her from being swept away even further. With the help of him, she was pulled from the river, her jacket stuck to her.

Instantly, Eladriel had his arms around her, his body warmth a wonderful change from the freezing depths. After floating in the water for over a minute and a half, getting out of it made her suddenly feel like she was being weighed down by something; thankfully not her backpack, though, as she had taken it off earlier and Eladriel had been holding onto it. She had no energy to think; all she could do was lean onto Eladriel. There, in the distance, was the person who had been running after her, too.

It was Isabelle.


	5. Washington DC

_GUESS WHO JUST GOT A 3DS! THIS GIRL DID! I've been playing Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon a lot ever since I got the console, and it's actually really good! I'd recommend that anyone who's thinking about buying it should! It's definitely worth the moolah, that much I can say even if I'm currently stuck at that damn spider._

 _With my little recommendation done, come now, my precious goyas, let's tell the tale of how I first met Eladriel and Charlotte. All the stuff that's mentioned about the graveyard tradition is actually things we do every year, give or take a few adjustments to make it compatible for this story._

 _Also, I may have lost a bet with a friend so now I have to give you all an audio version of this chapter, read by yours truly and her terrible voice. I also had to record it one go; so there will be some stuttering and last-minute changes in the audio version. (Because fanfiction . net is dumb and won't let me link to stuff, you will not be able to hear the audio version. I'm sorry.)_

 _This takes place in the Daily Summoner Quests universe._

 _Links to the previous chapters and my other stories are in the comments._

* * *

The train brakes screeched and grinded against the rails, effectively halting the cars. Charlotte lurched forward from the sudden stop, but Eladriel grabbed onto her arm and pulled her back before she could fall off. The sea of people and monsters stood up and crowded against the door, waiting for them to open up. Charlotte held onto the older so they wouldn't get separated.

A Clara and her Summoner rammed into the two, shouting at them to move out of the way. Charlotte caught a glimpse of them once; the redheaded Pierret was giving them a disgusted glare, as if it was their fault that they couldn't get out because of everyone shoving and jostling them to the back. Her Summoner, a 14-year-old boy, paid no attention to them. He was more interested to bury his face in his red 3DS and play Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (She saw a bit of the screen as he was vacuuming up a Slammer) as Clara led him onto the pavement. Charlotte was briefly reminded of when their old Summoner's daughter threw a temper tantrum when her mother bought her a Silver 3DS instead of the Galaxy 3DS XL she wanted.

Washington D.C., the capital of United States. The sun was blazing down on them, and it was far too bright. There were cherry blossoms wherever they went, that was nice, but the pollen being blown about the city only made Charlotte sneeze. The only thing that was redeeming about it was the Capitol Building, standing proud and tall in the distance. The curved roof and its strong ground made the building seem like it was watching over the city, like a parent watching a child's first steps.

A girl sprinted past them, almost shoulder-slamming Charlotte into a wall. "'ssssCUSE me, comin' through!" She shouted over her shoulder, her braid swinging about and bouncing with each step. The girl's red and orange skirt flew about as it was caught in the wind. The two of them came to conclude that she was a Chasun, albeit an unawakened one. As Eladriel was about to shout at her, she stepped on her own braid with her ballerina shoes, the pair an orange the shade of a sunset, and tumbled to the ground.

"Oh, for the love of Elsharion – hey! Do me a favor and help a girl up, won't you?!" Chasun snapped at them. Charlotte was taken aback at her rudeness, her brash tone of voice only making her characteristically shy. She hid behind Eladriel, who kept a steady grip on her hand. She saw that they weren't doing anything to help and spoke again.

"Did I stutter? It's kind of common courtesy to help someone up if they fall in front of you!" Her tone was becoming increasingly cross with them, never once saying please or thank you.

"Yo, Chasey, I think you forgot a couple of nice words." A voice butted in. The two looked over to see a Lushen coming their way. He was still unawakened; adorably short, to the point where even Charlotte was a bit taller than him, and his eyelids were half-closed.

"Sorry about the girl, she's just "brutally honest" but personally, I think she uses it as an excuse to insult people." He shrugged, pulling Chasun up to her feet.

"It's not _my_ fault you look like Jimmy Neutron, except a hundred times less smart and interesting." She gently punched his hair. He threw a card into her mouth in response. Chasun spat it out.

"Can we NOT do this in front of the Capitol Building? I need to take a selfie." She stomped off with her phone in hand. Lushen turned to the two.

"Name's Lushen. And you guys?" He held out his hand. Eladriel told him his. Charlotte nervously squeaked out hers. Eladriel took it, and was met with extremely loud farting noises and Lushen practically crying of laughter. A girl glared at him from the distance and bounced over.

"Lushen. That's disgusting." She glared at him. Her dark hair was tied up into a ponytail, her skirt a mix of white, pink and blue and her lacy pink shirt complementing the colors. The colors on the skirt swirled and twirled into such a random, pretty pattern that it looked like it was tie-dyed.

She was a beautiful girl; half-Chinese and half-Irish; just enough blood from each side for her to have wide eyes and a cute button nose like a girl from an anime, while still having golden skin and a fairy-like body. The young adult silently held out her hand toward her monster.

"Give me the whoopee cushion." Lushen stuck out his tongue.

"Only if you can catch me!" With that, he took off in the opposite direction.

"Alright. Fine then. I'm just going to go back into my parents' car with the others so that we can go and drive to the graveyard. I'm done with you right now." She flashed a look of sympathy towards the two.

"I am sincerely sorry about Chasun and Lushen over there. They are literally the worst monsters I have to take care of right now. I'm their Summoner, Sara. No need to shake my hand; they're really sweaty because puberty hates me." Charlotte smiled at her honesty. It was certainly refreshing to see maturity after the last two monsters they encountered within the past two minutes.

"I-it's nice to meet you, Sara." Charlotte stammered.

"If you do not mind us asking, what do you mean a graveyard?" Eladriel spoke up afterwards.

"Oh yeah, it's kind of this tradition thing. Every year at Easter my family on my Dad's side all meet up at the graveyard where my grandfather and great-grandparents are buried, we burn some incense, say a few words, and we get to have a few snacks. After that we just hang around the graveyard and talk for a little while until the sun sets. We're allowed to bring friends, too. My aunt Mo always makes a lot of food and we always have extras to give out. My nickname may be "Bottomless Pit" but even I have moments where I cannot eat any more. Whaddya say? Just as long as your Summoner's cool with it." The two of them glanced at each other. It sounded nice and a good way to pass the day, but at the same time, they might be forced to tell a bit about themselves. That was overpowered by their wish to come around, and they agreed to it.

"Alright, great! Just give me a second to round those two up and I'll show you to our car." Sara turned around and shouted she was leaving them behind if they didn't get to her side right that very moment, and started walking.

"U-um, Sara…?" Charlotte whispered.

"Eh, don't worry about it. They thought I was lying once when we were going to Wal-Mart and let's just say they don't doubt me anymore." Eladriel could almost feel her evil grin, even though Sara's back was turned to him.

"Y-you're a little scary when you're grinning like that…" Charlotte could also feel her grin through the air. She didn't act surprised; though. Years of living with monsters have made her accept the fact that they've got a little more sixth sense than a human.

"My parents' car is right over there. You can feel free to walk or fly to the graveyard if you don't want a ride. Just follow the red car and you'll be fine." Sara pointed at the car she was talking about. It was parked in a gas station, and a couple had just finished filling up the tank.

"We're just going to fly there, but thanks for the offer." Eladriel sighed, glad he could get out of interacting with people. Chasun and Lushen rushed to the girl's side as she was opening the door.

"Ah yes, the two have finally arrived and decided they don't want to get left behind." She said. A colorful blue and red ball tumbled out, and a small blue creature came out with said ball. A staff and tiny crown rolled to Charlotte's feet. She glanced at the staff for a moment, before bending down at picking it up.

"Oh, Orion, come on! Back in the car! Where's your staff?" Charlotte stared, mesmerized, at the staff. The gem in the center glowed a bright white, the material elegantly carved to grip onto it with one claw. She twirled it around, watching the light make patterns in the air. The light in the gem grew brighter the more she moved it around.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA don't do that!" The Brownie Magician saw her and rolled over as quickly as possible. More shocked than anything, she suddenly dropped it onto the ground. The light faded away until it was back to its regular brightness. She rushed back over to Eladriel and hid her face behind him, like a child rushing back to her parent. He held onto her.

Orion shot out a chubby little hand and grabbed the staff, waving it around. The crown, which had landed about ten feet away from Charlotte, glowed a soft blue and began to levitate in the air. She jumped, but nevertheless watched on as it was set onto his head.

"The way you were waving around the staff, you were literally going to cause an explosion!" He manually tilted his crown back up with one hand. Without waiting for a response, he turned and rolled himself back to the car, expertly bouncing off of his ball like a trampoline and into the car, before reaching out and hauling the ball in. The door closed and Sara walked to the other side. Charlotte peeked over and the two took this as their cue to start walking, following the car as it lumbered off into the city.


	6. The Flames That Burn Our Past

_I think Moana memes are my new favorite thing now._

 _We're almost at the end of Runaways now! I apologize to all of you who were enjoying it, but unlike ASD/DSQ, it's got a fixed storyline and can't go on forever as I make up new ideas. I assure you that a happy ending will come for the both of them._

 _I actually finished the final chapter before this one, so you all might see a new chapter as early as tomorrow! It's been fun, writing this story and all that, but, as I've always said before, all good things must come to an end. Don't worry, though, I've got a lot more projects I want to work on, including my book, and a lot of other Summoner's War fanfiction, so this isn't the last you'll see of me, or Charlotte and Eladriel!_

 _This is backstory for two characters of mine, Charlotte and Eladriel. They're part of the A Summoner's Duty universe. Please click that link if you want some refreshers on the rules of the universe. They're in the author's note._

* * *

 _Her power is still undeveloped._

The world around them crackled and burned. With every hasty breath that Eladriel took, desperately searching for Charlotte, more smoke filled his lungs. Even as his lungs were singed, the only thing he cared about was his dear sister, Charlotte. He called out her name, and she called back, before something cut her off.

 _It's my job to protect this girl with everything I've got._

The riot raged on outside of the abandoned building, screaming nonsense about abuse of monsters. The police had since gotten involved, handcuffing and arresting protestors, but Eladriel didn't care. He rushed up to the upper layer of the burning building, where she had called out to him.

 _She's all that matters to me._

"Charlotte?!" He yelled over the burning of the flames and the adrenaline in his body. Her voice was getting closer, and he turned in that direction. Eladriel was going to get Charlotte and get out of the building, not expecting to see Isabelle there, holding tightly onto one of Charlotte's pigtails with one hand and a knife at her throat with the other.

"If you don't do exactly as I say," She smiled behind her mask, "I'll make her bleed right here."

 _I'd do anything for her, because we've been through so much…_

Charlotte's eyes were wide with fear, and Eladriel knew that there was nothing that either of them would be able to do to make it out unharmed while defying Isabelle. Velajuel wasn't by her side, he noted.

"Not so quick to run, now that this little brat is in danger, hmm?" Isabelle relished in the moment, and although Charlotte was mouthing at him to run, to save himself, he wasn't going to, if nothing else; let Charlotte go back to their old home. He didn't care about himself, he knew that he'd be able to survive, but she was just a child, who didn't deserve any of the abuse she had taken.

 _…and I don't want her to go through any more pain._

The past few months seemed to be nothing but dreams, to the point where not even Eladriel, who seemed to know everything, was sure that they were even real. He remembered only select things. The earliest one started about a week after meeting that strange girl with her monsters.

He stared down at his wrists. One had the Despair rune symbol emblazed on it in white with a black outline, and the other Determination, the exact same colors as the Despair symbol. It was strange, how his old Summoner never seemed to care about his runes – she just threw whatever she had into the back of his neck and never mentioned it again. Charlotte didn't even have runes on her, her wrists pale and smooth. A long time ago, the yellow threads on their wrists that proved they belonged to a Summoner had disappeared.

Eladriel wouldn't have even cared about them if Charlotte hadn't been staring at his runes on the back of his neck. He had removed his hood and was trying to fix his hair. It was a dirty blond and was always in a pixie cut, just stopping where the six rune slots in his neck were, and never seemed to turn any lighter, despite how many times he tried to wash it.

When he glanced up into the mirror, he had seen the girl's eyes widening as she stared at the symbols carved into the stones. He had never seen her so concerned before. Before he asked what was wrong, Charlotte whispered in a shaky voice.

"Y-your runes…" Her finger traced the symbol on the rune in his third slot, a Despair rune. There was a glowing red dot inside of the carving. It took her a few seconds to realize why it had been so easy for their hunters to find them so easily – it was a tracker.

"T-there's a tracker in them…" He froze, comb clattering out of his hand and into the sink. Isabelle must have been the one that had put it on there. Charlotte tried to pull it out, but it held firmly and stubbornly. Her heart and stomach was beginning to sink, as she realized what she had to do. Eladriel regained his composure, and without missing a beat, he said to her, "You have to pull my runes out."

It was possible to remove runes without using any mana, but it was very painful for the monster, and could even cause physical harm if attempted for too long. Charlotte shuddered at the thought of it, knowing that she couldn't. She couldn't bear to see her brother in pain, much less know she was the one causing it. He turned around and held onto her little hands, looking her in the eyes.

"I know it's going to hurt, but I trust you, and I need you to do this." She hesitated still, but he smiled slightly at her.

"It's going to be okay, Charlotte. Everything is going to be okay." Eladriel held her close, feeling her arms wrap around him. She held him for about half a minute before responding.

"I'll do it for you; Brother." He knew that deep down she was afraid, terrified even, of hurting him, but she had to. His mind wandered from conscious to darkness, but in the few moments of consciousness he could remember, there was blood in the sink. Charlotte was prying a Despair rune out of his sixth slot, using a fork she had found a while back. Five had already been removed, and she just had to get the last one out.

Eladriel's whole body lurched all of a sudden and more blood splattered into the hollow, dripping out of his mouth. Charlotte almost broke down, whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. He didn't yelp or cry once, but his jaw was trembling, which only happened when he was in so much pain. It burned and seared through his body, and seemed to destroy his very soul. Charlotte had seen him throw up blood countless times, and she didn't want to hurt him anymore.

Finally there was a snapping noise and the last rune came out before crumbling to bits in Charlotte's hand. She had evidently destroyed the rune, but it was out. The stinging that rushed through his body faded away into a numb, but sore feeling, and he didn't have the urge to spit out more blood. He held her close, telling her that it was alright, and how strong she was.

The next memory was four days later. All he remembered were a girl's cold, black eyes that stared into his very core and being, a strange stone in the girl's hand that had been carved into an archangel, the scream of Charlotte, and the feeling that there were ropes tying up his wrists and forcing his arms to move against his own will. Whenever he thought back to her emotionless eyes, three words formed in his mind: _The Soul Destroyer._ Charlotte's memory of the event was even worse; she remembered nothing but pitch darkness and a voice ring out, "Burn, hellish beast! The power of Goddesses Mirai and Senka are not for humans to control!"

The final memory was almost a year after the fact. Eladriel had felt like there was something wrong on that day, and Charlotte knew it, too. He could feel her doubt and internal concern, her soul tainted with those feelings, including the piece of her soul she had given him for his birthday. The riot broke out about twelve hours after these feelings developed.

There had been an article all over the world news, about a man who had been busted and arrested for abusing his monsters; selling them for drugs and as slaves. Over hundreds of monsters had to have been hurt by him, and two of them were the light and dark Occult Girl sisters, Lora and Nicki. People were apparently unhappy over the sentence he was going to get, and decided they would protest.

Eladriel had woken up to discover that Charlotte was gone; she wasn't sleeping on his lap with his wings wrapped around her like a protective shield like she always did. He grabbed onto his sword and stood up, trying to pinpoint exactly where she was, based on where he could feel her fear. An icy sensation grew in what felt like the left of his mind, and he turned towards it. The feeling changed as he turned, becoming stronger, and suddenly he could hear her heart racing in his mind. His stomach dropped as the building started warming up.

Embers jumped out from a vent on the ceiling, causing him to jump. He looked up. The slits in the vents were glowering a bright orange, and the crackles of flames could be heard echoing inside. The building was burning, he realized, and Charlotte was trapped somewhere.

She was on the upper floor of the building, where Isabelle had led them both to. The building had progressed to the point where the smoke made it difficult to breathe and see. Charlotte's eyes watered from fear and from the stinging in her eyes. Eladriel could feel her fear, and he wanted to hold her close, tell her that everything would be alright, but he knew that if he made a step towards her Isabelle would cut her throat.

A fierce grip on his shoulders made him flinch for just a second, and a deep, sultry voice whispered into his ear. "Hello, gorgeous," he whispered, and Eladriel soon recognized him as Velajuel; "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Isabelle had a flicker of rage across her face for just a moment, but that died out, muffled by smugness. He realized that an argument had gone down between them somehow, and she forced him out of their mission. What happened in that argument, though, he would never know.

"You and I both know that you and Charlotte are exhausted; you don't want to run and you know we'll both overpower you eventually and forcefully take you back." It was around this point that Eladriel felt the surprisingly cold sword of Velajuel's on his wings, so there was no way he'd be able to fly out of the situation with Charlotte. If he dared to move, he knew that one wing would be sliced clean off and most likely the other would fall with it, too.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" She smirked, and Charlotte's eyes welled up with tears. Fear clouded her mind as she saw the fire archangel behind her cousin. She wished that she could help him, to get Velajuel off of him, but her power hadn't been developed and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Her eyes closed as she heard Isabelle. She knew how to get to Eladriel's weak points. She told him that if he were to just give himself up, she would let Charlotte go and wouldn't kill her. Velajuel seemed to have different plans, though, and offered Eladriel to come with him, and Charlotte could come along, too. Isabelle obviously didn't like this, and her anger flared up.

The two monsters, who were once coworkers, friends even, bickered at one another as the flames grew even brighter, Velajuel's rage burning the building alive. If something wasn't said at that moment, they would all be burned with the building. Eladriel knew what he had to do, shouting that he would go with Isabelle. Rage flashed across Velajuel's face, before he became emotionless once more. He would have bet that Isabelle was smirking under her mask. The blade was taken off of Charlotte's neck and she was roughly thrown towards him. He caught her in his arms.

"I'll let you have your last words with your cousin, Eladriel. You have one minute." Charlotte was trembling, he realized. He had waited until the right moment to give her this, and it was now or never. Eladriel nudged her hand, and as she looked at it, she realized that it was a shard of his soul. He placed it in her hand and closed it.

"Charlotte, I promise you that I'll find you. No matter what happens, we'll be together." Eladriel held her hand closed, knowing that the piece of his soul he had given to her was being absorbed into her body and fitting into where the gap from the piece of her soul Charlotte had given him was, binding them together forever. Charlotte hugged him one last time, sobbing into his arms. Suddenly she could feel his emotions, just like what Eladriel always said that he could feel in her. He was afraid, that much was obvious, but there also seemed to be a tinge of happiness, knowing that Charlotte would be safe.

"P-please, Brother, don't go…" She whimpered. Eladriel had his arms around her, and though he wouldn't let her see it, a single tear slid down his face. Although the building burned around them and both Isabelle and Velajuel were going to drag him away to the hell of their old home, he still managed to sound reassuring and calm her racing nerves.

"It's going to be okay, Charlotte. Everything's going to be okay." His voice faded away into darkness, and then there was white.

The first thing Charlotte heard was the sound of screaming. "…she's my first nat5 and is a precious little cinnamon roll oh my god we must protect the adorable Chloe look at this!" The girl's voice was familiar but new at the same time. As the sound of a Lushen speaking was audible, Charlotte remembered the little girl she had met a year ago, Sara. It was a coincidence beyond realms, but one that must have saved her life. She just hoped that, wherever Eladriel was, he was alright.

Her eyes opened, and she quickly shut them again as light flooded into her retinas and burned them. Sara squealed even harder, most likely shouting about how cute Charlotte looked. "I'm gonna rune this adorable bab up and then awaken her and max her out and six-star her and IT'S MY FIRST NAT5 LUSHEN DON'T YOU SAY I SHOULDN'T BE HYPED ABOUT THIS."

She opened up her eyes again, having been convinced she'll be able to see without going blind. Charlotte was on an island – nothing that she hadn't seen before. Unlike her old Summoner's island, though, this one seemed warmer and friendlier. The buildings were scattered across the island, and there were trees growing wherever they pleased. It was obvious that this girl was a lot less experienced, but it didn't seem like she cared that much.

Charlotte smiled a bit at her new home, but she quickly remembered what happened to her brother. She could feel him somewhere out there, though, and she kept on smiling.

In the cold, dark home they used to live in, Eladriel looked up at the window, being pounded with rain, and for no reason, he, too, smiled.


	7. Home at Last

_…Yep, this is it, guys. The final chapter of Runaways. I've finally completed a chapter fic for once in my life, and I've ended it on the most heartwarming ending possible._

 _This was a story arc for two of my characters, Charlotte and Eladriel. This was part of their past, and you can read more of them in the A Summoner's Duty universe._

* * *

 **Summary:** Charlotte could never forget Eladriel. He was everything to her: her best friend, her older brother, her world. She could never tell her new family about her emotions and how much she missed him, but soon she finds out that she didn't have to when Sara's best friend finds a certain light natural five star.

* * *

"Alright, boys and girls!" Her Summoner, Sara, clapped. Charlotte looked up. Her umbrella was open, and although she was over half a foot taller, she was still incredibly short.

"Today we're going to be trying to farm Giants' Keep, preferably B7." Charlotte smiled at her. She was always brutally honest about how bad at Summoner's War she was; over six years of playing and she couldn't even do Giants' Keep B7, nor had she fused Veromos, but she was working on it. It was always nice to see her enthusiasm, though. If _he_ were here, he would say that Sara reminded him of –

No.

 _It's never good to dwell on the past._ She snapped out of her thoughts as the team was led to the portal. A breeze fluttered by the islands, and some of Frigate's feathers were blown off and carried away in the wind. Chloe was to her right. She was like the mother that she never had, and was the closest to her since her summoning.

She was always the first to notice her drifting off, just thinking about her time together with Eladriel, but she knew that if she didn't want to say anything, it was her choice. There were multiple times she almost told Chloe about her past, but knew that if she did everything would crumble away. That didn't matter, though.

It was her first time being brought to battle, as Sara didn't want to use her until she had been awakened, runed and even made into her first six-star. She was honored that she had been the first monster that Sara had six-starred, but she honestly felt she didn't deserve that much love and attention.

The pure white rocks in B6 of Giants' Keep greeted the team, the golems in front of them. Charlotte went last, after Frigate, Chloe, Platy and finally Su. Her eyes closed as her arms extended, letting her magic flow through her. Suddenly she was having memories of her and Eladriel together, and his smile lingered in her mind.

As Eladriel closed his eyes, he saw golems, in a dungeon of ivory and cream-colored stones. He saw a kind woman with red hair, as she healed the most injured of her teammates, a pirate with dark hair and raven-like feathers and a woman with her black hair tied up in a high ponytail, blue whip in hand. A mermaid was next to the Epikion Priest, trident in hand and red hair covering one eye, and in the middle of this team was * _Charlotte.*_ She needed his help, that much he knew.

"L-look at that!" Sara extended her arm out. Everyone except Charlotte looked up, as she was busy concentrating on all of her memories of their time together. It was Eladriel, and as he zipped above their heads on the ceiling, he targeted the middle golem, Groggo, but his attack spread to the other two golems by Groggo's side.

"I-it's an archangel!" Su gasped. The wind changed and swirled around everyone, and a wind storm had been kicked up, ripping pieces of rock and pebbles off of the golems and throwing it far away. None seemed to hit any of the team as they watched in awe, though. His final attack drove his sword into the last remaining golem, Groggo, before he suddenly disappeared. Eladriel's eyes opened and he was back where he was originally, unsure of what he had seen and done was just a figment of his imagination.

Charlotte's arms lowered and her eyes opened. All the golems in the area were dead. She was their major damage dealer, and had the best runes of the whole team, Despair and Blade. Her mind flashed back, just for a split second, about the prying of Eladriel's runes out of his slots. On her wrists, though, both symbols were orange, instead of white, and the band around her wrist that was yellow during her time with her old Summoner had become purple. Everyone started lightly applauding, before they carried on to floor four of the dungeon. As she watched Charlotte bring her ivory-colored teddy bear, Crème, to life, one button eye blue and the other covered by an eyepatch, Sara shook her head at her team.

"I really need an AoE healer…" She said to herself. Su broke out into a fit of fake coughing, spluttering out "Belladeon" Sara glared at her.

"Just because you're my first non-predetermined four star doesn't mean you can be snarky; I _have_ a Belladeon, thank you."

"Then why is she not on this team?"

"Would you rather I replaced you with Belladeon?" She snapped back. Sara had since forgotten the day that she had met the two, but Charlotte never forgot. While the two were in their little argument, she felt _him_ out there in the world. Her head started to spin from fear all of a sudden, as she realized that Eladriel was running from something. Chloe asked what was wrong. She snapped out of it and said nothing, she was fine.

The team went on, Charlotte just doing her part, until they faced the giant. Even though Chloe had shielded everyone, they all used up their invincibility buff, leaving Charlotte last. She called for her teddy, and it snarled before tearing at the giant, a strange poison coating its teeth that could put a weaker enemy to sleep. After a few more attacks from the entire team, it was defeated. A wooden chest, adorned with gold, dropped in front of them and Chloe went to open it. A slot-4, 5-star Legendary Energy rune laid in front of them, with HP% as the main stat.

"Looks like we found us a new Chloe rune!" Sara picked up the stone and examined it in the light.

"Alright, let's go again!" Charlotte smiled for no reason, and the battle against the golems began once more, leaving her wishing that Eladriel were there. Somewhere out there, she knew that he was looking for her.

Somewhere out there, warmth spread from the tips of Eladriel's wings down to his fingertips, and he knew that, wherever Charlotte was, she was in a happy and loving home.

* * *

"Whatcha doin'?" Yeonhong looked up at Sara after she stormed into the dining room one morning and started grabbing the salt shaker.

"About to salt summon." The girl sighed.

"Who got what this time?" Through a mouthful of salt, Sara replied.

"Best friend got Artamiel." Her sister, Chasun, looked up from her cup of tea, hazel eyes wide.

"Duuuude! You're best friends with the owner of the king of kings?!" She nodded.

"But luckily for me, I have a Mystical Scroll, so my salt can only be amplified even further as I get trash." The quiet sound of a summoning happened. No one was looking at her, which was why they didn't see her eyes widen as lightning flashed across her screen. She was silent for a few seconds, deciding whether to laugh or spray the salt out and scream in excitement. She chose the latter, which caused everyone in the room, Chloe, Orion, Yeonhong, Lushen and Chasun, to flinch and start freaking out a little.

Charlotte awoke from the corner a few seconds before Sara screamed, as the most intense feeling she had ever experienced rushed through her. All at once, Eladriel was afraid, proud and happy, the three emotions of his that she could feel. She almost threw up from how dizzy she had become, but at the same time the warmth that blossomed in her heart had never been so comforting and her fingers twitched as a chill rushed through her bones.

She never stopped her habit of sleeping in the corner of a room or building, but she would sometimes wake up and find herself in the bed that was in her room. She always slept with Eladriel protecting her; she would be curled up in his lap and he would wrap his wings around the both of them as a shield of sorts.

Charlotte had been dreaming of him again, of his smile, his laugh, and how he would read * _The Hobbit*_ under trees to her. The particular memory she had pulled out of her mind was when she was just five and Eladriel nine. It was murky, and some of the details were blurred out, but she always had the major actions forever embedded in her mind.

 _"Wow!" She smiled, looking up at the cherry blossom tree. Their old Summoner had a beautiful garden, but they were never allowed in it. The two, of course, would sneak in when she and her daughter were gone and spend time together. This was their first time entering the garden. Eladriel looked up from his book to see the little girl pointing up at the tree._

 _"It's beautiful, is it not, Charlotte?" Ever since a young age he had been fascinated with nature and literature._

 _"It's the prettiest thing in the world!" Without even thinking, Eladriel closed his book and flew up towards the tree, where he picked a fat, pink cherry blossom, tinged with red. He floated down and tied it into one of her pigtails._

 _"For the prettiest girl in the world." He smiled at her. Her whole face lit up, and she hugged him. He hugged her back, a warm feeling blooming inside of him, like one of the cherry blossoms._

She had woken up as the memory ended, and her mind snapped back to reality. It didn't sound like a scream of fear, so she was less awake than she would've been otherwise. Charlotte stood up and opened her umbrella, walking sleepily into the dining room to figure out what was happening. Thankfully, Yeonhong clued her in as soon as she saw the girl.

"Okayokayokay so Sara's best friend just got an Artamiel so she poured salt into her mouth and did a salt summon and do you know what she got?!" Charlotte shook her head.

"An _Eladriel,_ Charlotte!" Her heart stopped at the sound of his name. It was only a one in a million chance that they would both be summoned into the same household again, but one in a million was better than nothing.

"I'm sending him to the house right now!" Charlotte glanced out the window, where she saw the archangel suddenly floating above the driveway. She paused and turned her head all the way towards the window, instead of just letting her eyes dart towards it. He seemed mostly confused, but he saw Charlotte, looking at him. He, too, froze, and an expression of hope washed across his face.

 _It must be…_ She mouthed something to him, and his expression of hope grew into true joy.

" _Do not listen to the lies of a dead man._ " It was their phrase, what they had used all those years ago when the police, or worse, Isabelle and Velajuel, were onto them.

"Charlotte?" Yeonhong mumbled. She looked back at the girl before breaking out into a run towards the front door.

"Hey! Charlotte!" Her words had fallen on deaf ears, though, as Charlotte didn't care to stick around. Eladriel had started running, too, hoping that the girl he had seen was the sister he had abandoned all those years ago. He had played along, let Isabelle and Velajuel return them to his old Summoner, but as soon as he could, he broke free again and spent years searching for her.

She wasn't even sure who opened the door, but frankly, she didn't care. Time seemed to slow around her as she leaped up and into Eladriel's arms. After years of missing a part of her, she suddenly felt whole again, just from feeling Eladriel's presence; warm, caring and protective. They held each other for what felt like hours, until Charlotte whispered one thing into his ear as her Summoner came out to see what happened:

"Welcome home, Brother."


End file.
